Snakes Among Humanity (DISCONTINUED: GO TO AO3 ACCOUNT)
by love a sexy trash can
Summary: A war between humans and Serpentine almost destroyed Ninjago. When a new threat thousands of years later, many will rise to prepare for a new war. Unknowst to most of society, the existence of human-Serpentine hybrids thrived. However, the discovery of two hybrids at Darkley's School for Magic of Elements may be the turning point that changes the future of Ninjago...
1. Chapter 1

**NEW STORY ALERT! HOPE YOU ENJOY!**

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Thousands of years ago, there was a war between humans and Serpentine. Millions were killed on both sides. Despite all the bloodshed and death, the humans won. Every Serpentine race was outcasted and belittled, treated less than living beings. However, there were many people who believed the new generations of Serpentine were not the same as their ancestors. "The faults of your people's pasts should not define your deeds as your own," these people said to justify their trust and bond with the Serpentine. After all, not all humans were like their ancestors from the war. However, many of those people were shunned as well, believed to be traitors of their own kind and dangerous to be around.

As the years passed by, Serpentine cults formed by humans arose, believing they could use the magic of Ninjago to turn into Serpentine themselves. The most known was the Anacondrai cult. They were known to have the purple snake tattoos that, when the spell was completed, would turn all those marked into mock Anacondrai. There was almost another war. Many innocent people were affected, not knowing the true purpose of the cult. Many went into hiding, the rest killed.

Unknown to most of humanity, while the events leading up to the war that almost started occurred, Serpentine and humans had mated, bringing to the world human-snake hybrids. These hybrids would never pass in human society, their Serpentine heritage giving them away- patches of scaly skin, fangs, hissing, pointed ears compared to the elves. They were accepted among the Serpentine and the humans who still believed the Serpentine were good. Eventually, the hybrids would either mate with other hybrids, Serpentine, or humans. For the offspring of the hybrid-human couples, they gained more humanistic features. Many could return to the human world of Ninjago and, if they kept their Serpentine heritage a secret, lived normal lives among the people.

However, these offspring's secret heritage would never disappear. Most were born with marks that identified them as still reptilian. As magic was a work that progressed from being the reason one would be persecuted to being a practice many desired to learn, those with these marks could shapeshift into Serpentine bodies and harness the natural abilities of the snake tribes they descended from. Most never gain this ability as the schools that teach the practice of magic were difficult to get into. The rest never attempt to do so.

Until a threat deep inside the Serpentine race arose, growing for over centuries, feeding off the hatred for the human race and thirst for revenge. The discovery of two descendants of two long lines of hybrids in the most prestigious school, Darkley's School for Magic of Elements, sparked the hatred, prejudice, and mistrust that had accumulated over the years, pushing forward what could become a war...

* * *

"But why do whole-bloods hate us so much?" Nya Smith asked her father, hugging her teddy bear tightly. She tugged on one of her ears nervously. She hated having to hear these stories, but her parents and brother insisted it was so she could be safe with her secret heritage. Her father smiled sadly and reached over to mess with her hair. "Hey, no!"

"The world is filled with prejudice and hate. We assume things about certain groups of people and associate the innocent with these stereotypes," Ray explained. Although he was noticeably tired, his son humphed and crossed his arms.

"I would never do that. Give me good reasons to not like you, then yeah, I wouldn't like you at all," Kai said before yawning. He rubbed his eyes. Their mother, Maya, chuckled.

"Alright, I think it's well past your bedtime for the both of you," she teased and tucked her children in their shared bed. "Remember Kai, you have to practice a little more before you can attempt to enter Darkley's, okay? You too, Nya."

"Okay. We love you, Mommy, Daddy," the siblings said simultaneously. Kai hugged his sister close as if he was protecting her in their sleep. Before she fell asleep, Nya pulled her brother's ear as well and giggled when his face scrunched. His ears were only the slightest bit pointier than hers.

"Nya, stop bothering your brother. Go to sleep both of you. We love you both so much," Maya whispered in the darkness of the room, not that it seemed dark to her or the rest of her family. They could all see perfectly well in the night. Even as the door closed and she knew she should obey her mother, Nya couldn't help but at least trace the marks she and her brother had. Kai's was on his left arm on the skin opposite to his elbow, in the shape of a snake burning. Nya's mark was on the same part of her body but on her right arm, and it was a snake surrounded by puddles of water. She thought their marks fit them well; she just wished they were easier to hide. She and Kai had to wear long sleeves a lot. She wondered how long it'd be before they could unlock the ability to shapeshift into Serpentine. What would a tail be like?

"Nya, stop touching me," her brother hissed softly. Giggling again, Nya listened and closed her eyes, slowly drifting off to sleep.

* * *

Kai took a deep breath, the realization that he would be leaving his family behind in Ignacia for who knows how long to go to Darkley's School for Magic of Elements finally crashing down on him. Nya would join him in three years' time, but that felt like a long way in his ten-year-old mind. He pulled down his sleeves, hiding his mark. Standing behind him was his family. They were waiting for the carriage that would take him away to the school where he would grow powerful in magic. When they could see it rising from the horizon, Kai turned around and hugged his family for a long time.

"I'll miss y'all so much," he muttered. Nya squeezed his waist tighter.

"We'll miss you too, _butkhá_ ," the young girl said softly. Soon enough, they could all hear the clip-clop of the carriage horses. Maya and Ray stroked their son's head and back to calm him. They could feel his anxiety rising.

"Remember, hide who you are and stay safe," Ray warned.

"And make friends as well," Maya added. Kai nodded. The carriage was right in front of them.

"Future students of Darkley's School for Magic of Elements, get your asses on here!" the driver cussed in a gravelly voice. He had long brown hair kept tame by a straw hat. He had an eyepatch over his right eye and he seemed to not have shaven for a while. Smiling at his family and whispered a soft goodbye, he grabbed his luggage beside him and stepped into the carriage. There were already others there, three other boys. It was a little hard to see every detail about them, but Kai's eyes adjusted to the slight darkness instantly. One of them had dark skin and ebony hair, the second was almost the complete opposite with pale skin and silvery-blond hair. The last had brown curls and a galaxy of freckles. Staring harder, Kai could see he had two different color eyes, the left an electric blue and the right a chocolate brown. His skin was an in-between of the other two, a fair tone. "Hey, you! Sit down!" the man shouted at Kai. The carriage jerked forward, forcing Kai to sit- meaning, falling on his behind. The boy with the different colored eyes laughed before covering his mouth with his hand.

"Oops, sorry. That was just so sudden. I didn't mean to laugh," he explained himself quickly. Ignoring him for the moment, Kai approached the small window that let in a little light to see and waved to his family until he couldn't see them anymore. "Well, I guess I should introduce myself. I'm Jay Walker." He held out his hand. Hesitantly, Kai reached out and shook it.

"Cole Brookstone," the dark-skinned boy replied tersely.

"Zane Julien," the pale blond said with a gentle smile.

"Uh, Kai Smith," the boy said, rubbing his backside. It still stung from falling. Jay snorted.

"Is 'uh' a part of your first name?" he joked before bursting out in laughter. Cole groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Jay, shut up or I swear to the First Spinjitzu Master, I _will_ slap you this time!" he shouted, flexing his arm as a warning. Whimpering, Jay scooted farther away from Cole, which wasn't much since there wasn't much room in the carriage. Zane chuckled.

"As you can see, these two have known each other for a while," he told Kai. "So, since Kai is the last pickup for Ronin," Zane continued, pointing at their driver, "I suppose we should share why we are going to Darkley's. I'll go first. I wish to help and save those who cannot do so themselves with what I learn."

"Goody-two-shoes," Cole muttered. "I'm pretty much rebelling against my father. He wanted me to follow in his footsteps and be an entertainer, but I actually want to do something worthwhile in my life. So, yeah. I'm going to Darkley's out of spite."

"Well, I'm going to Darkley's to help stop the rebellion rising among the Serpentine," Jay said matter-of-factly with a smug grin. Cole laughed and held up his hand for a high-five. Zane shook his head, whether in disappointment or at the others' antics, Kai could not tell. The brunet tugged on his sleeves again. Jay wanted to kill his people. He didn't say it but that was what he meant. "What about you, Kai? What are you gonna do with magic?" Kai chuckled nervously.

"Well, mine's gonna sound so lame compared to all of y'all's. I'm doing it so I can become more powerful and help my family. Make 'em proud too," he answered. Cole and Jay nodded in approval, and Zane smiled at him. "Man, I wonder how long it'll take to get there or how long we'll be staying."

"I heard there have been students that have been there for decades learning magic!" Jay commented. Kai gasped. He couldn't let that become him. That would only increase the possibility and risk of his heritage being discovered. And what of Nya? He would need to make sure she worked just as hard as he would. He rubbed his mark through his sleeve. He sighed. Even though one of them had the desire to kill his kind and the others were still mysterious to him, Kai had to make friends. These three would be his first.

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 **Welcome to a new story that I thought of after thinking about the Serpentine, Kai and Nya's powers, and the Summoner Trilogy by Taran Matharu. A good series, I recommend reading it! Then it'd make certain events in this story more understandable.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Aaaaayyy, I'm back! Here's the second chapter! Enjoy!**

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It was not as grand a building as Kai had initially thought, but Darkley's still towered over the grounds. Jay gasped at the sight of the school. There were small groups of children of different ages sitting on the front lawn. They all lugged their belongings, Cole muttering a curse under his breath directed at their driver, who only smirked and propped his feet up.

The boys stood there on the grass for a few minutes when everyone heard a loud gong. Several of the children jumped to their feet and stood by their bags. The doors opened and there walked out the man that owned, ran, and taught at Darkley's School for Magic of Elements. Wu, an elder but also known as a powerful man and brother. He carried a staff in his hand, his eyes ordering the children to line up for order. He knocked a few students on the head before everyone obeyed.

"Glad to see so many willing students come to learn the art of magic. Why don't we all go inside and begin your orientation?" Wu said, slowly stroking his beard. All the children obeyed and went inside. Just like how it wasn't grand on the outside, the school was not very large on the inside, the hallways crowded with many students, both current and future. Surprisingly, there weren't that many students enrolled either.

The future students gathered in a large auditorium where they could spread themselves out easily. Suddenly, the atmosphere shifted to a much more tense feeling. Wu narrowed his eyes and pointed his staff at each of the students as he spoke.

"Many of you came here for some sort of reason. However, I will tell you all right now that not everyone will be able to attend this school. One must be brave, willing to sacrifice everything to be an Elemental Master, the title you earn when you have the ability of an element. Of course," the old man smirked, "you must have magic inside you as well." He clapped his hands. "But that is for the second test. Right now, we begin with your first test: bravery. Who is our enemy?" he asked the children. Several hands went up. Wu gestured to Jay.

"Serpentine," the freckled boy answered. Wu nodded.

"Correct. So now you will all face one." Kai's breath hitched. They had captured a Serpentine? What had the old man done to them?

One of the tiles of the auditorium's floor disappeared and a platform rose, a large vivarium on it. An enormous purple snake slithered inside. "Here, an Anacondrai. Just a baby. Which of you is brave enough to come in contact with it?"

Kai bit his tongue to prevent it from flicking past his lips and out his mouth. It hurt, especially when he accidentally used his fang-like teeth. However, the old man was either lying or was just as ignorant as the rest of these humans that were cowering and shaking, some even near tears. He knew that the snake was not actually an Anacondrai, but because of it's purple scales, people use them to instill fear in one's enemies.

Kai was the first to step forward and approached the vivarium. He removed the cover and reached in, carefully bringing the snake out. Many of the children took several stumbling steps back, including his new "friends". He stroked the reptile's scales and stared into its eyes. He felt the underbelly and smiled.

"Hey, girl. Are you okay?" he whispered. He made sure not to use words with an S so he wouldn't hiss. The snake's head came closer to his face, her tongue flicking at his cheek. He giggled while the others in the room gasped. He heard someone say how gross that was.

"Well, aren't you brave," Wu commented, standing beside the boy. "What's your name?"

"Kai. Kai Smith," the brunet answered. The snake wrapped her body around the base of his neck. Not to constrict him like some of the kids were muttering, but to become closer to him and possibly to feel warm. Although he was part Serpentine, because of his mark, Kai was abnormally warm for both a Serpentine and human. He was glad for that; it would most likely throw everyone off.

"Are you not afraid of the snake, Kai?" Wu asked, stroking his beard. Kai shook his head. "I see. Well, hand the beast to someone else. At least, if anyone is willing."

At this, Jay straightened and stomped forward, holding out his arms. As quietly as he could, Kai whispered an apology to the snake before handing her over to the freckled boy.

Jay sucked air between his teeth, the realization of what he was doing suddenly crashing down on him. He whimpered at the scaly feeling of the snake's skin. Shifting from foot to foot, he hurriedly handed the reptile over to Cole, taking the dark-skinned boy by surprise.

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More than half of the children sent back home by nightfall. Those who left were incapable of handling the serpent. Kai shook his head as discreetly as he could. Humans were so, so stupid.

They were ordered to sleep in the auditorium. Until the second test, no one was allowed to have a room. Kai scratched his mark through his sleeve, wondering what the test would be like. He knew he would pass it; he used magic to shed his skin when he desperately needed to.

However, he was nervous. This was his first of many nights away from home. He had grown used to Nya curling into him for warmth. She was colder than him and needed the warmth. He was worried for her but had to remember their parents were still there to take care of her. He had to worry about himself now.

Sighing and flipping onto his back, Kai shut his eyes and fell asleep.

* * *

Kai stood in the middle of the auditorium while the rest of the children were against the walls, observing him. He would be the first to take the second test because he was the first to handle the snake.

He felt the old man's staff poke him in the back. He growled softly. It actually hurt a bit.

"What makes you believe you have the ability to be in this school?" Wu interrogated, circling the boy. He narrowed his eyes, almost as if he was scanning him to see what magic he had. "Prove to me that you have magic inside you. Show me what element courses through your veins."

Kai closed his eyes and focused. He remembered the forge in the blacksmith shop. The molten metal. The radiating warmth of his mark...

His ears registered the shocked gaps of the other children and opened his eyes. He still felt warm, much more than usual. He looked down.

He was on _fire_. The old man stared at him, lowering his staff. He held out a finger and traced in the air. A sigil of a swirling fire took shape. As it faded, Kai felt something burning his left palm. He looked down and saw that the sigil was now branded on his skin. Slowly, the fire went out and the mark, previously glowing, dulled to black ink.

"A Master of Fire. Very powerful. Next!" Kai ran for the wall and watched the testing of the other students. A handful couldn't do anything. But those that could...

Jay sent sparks of electricity, Cole destroyed one of the columns with a small earthquake, and Zane froze the area of the floor he stood on and what surrounded him. One boy with messy grey hair turned into a puff of smoke. While one boy simply disappeared in the light, another jumped from one shadow to another. There were two girls as well, one who nearly made the air unbreathable with toxins and the other changed her shape to look like the old man. Everyone laughed except Wu.

One boy became metal and a blind boy shattered a glass window with a high-pitched scream. One boy with shades and slicked hair moved quicker than what was possible, and another boy with "reverse-skunk" hair was able to figure out what everyone was thinking at that very moment, even the old man. Kai had to make sure he wasn't thinking about his family. Finally, there was one last boy with dark skin and red dreads. He had a difficult time proving he had magic until he touched three people, with Kai being one of them. Soon, the boy was trying to control fire, sound, and metal.

"Ah, amber," the old man said. He traced a sigil that only swirled. "What is your name, boy?"

"Skylor and I'm no boy." There were muttered whispered and snickers. Wu raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? Then what are you?" Skylor stepped forward.

"A girl and that's how I'll use my magic," Skylor answered proudly. Wu nodded.

"Then we shall all refer to you as a girl. It only seems right to me. Now, back to the wall!" Wu now stood in the center. "Everyone that is left in this room will be attending this school. Your upperclassmen, Bolobo and Gravis, will take over now." As the old man left the room through the double doors, two men entered from the same direction. One had a full beard and carried a staff wrapped in vines. The other wore a turban and had a goatee. What was interesting was that the second man was not even touching the ground.

"Well, this is the biggest class I have ever seen in my life," the bearded man commented and laughed heartily. "I am Bolobo, Master of Nature."

"And I am Gravis, Master of Gravity. We will be detailing your stay here at Darkley's, what your days will be scheduled as, and, of course, show you all to your rooms," the floating man, Gravis, explained.

"But we must warn you, never misuse your magic. You will be kicked out and possibly stripped of your magic," Bolobo cautioned, a sorrowful look in his eyes. "We had such a case in our year, and two more many years before us." Gravis approached the children and loomed over them.

"Remember that this is also a prestigious school. If we discover any spies or any other traitors, you will suffer the same consequences for misusing magic. Perhaps... even killed." The room fell silent and Gravis smiled. "Thankfully, we never had to deal with such a situation yet. Now, follow us."

Kai looked down and shuddered. Unbeknownst to him, someone else reacted the same way to Gravis's words.

* * *

Kai cheered as he jumped and landed face-up on his new bed. His new room was so spacious! He loved it already. He heard Gravis chuckle and looked up.

"What's so funny?" the young boy queried. His upperclassman shook his head.

"No, it just always makes my soul feel lighter when I see people so happy. It's been a while. We've gone years without any new students." A frown took over his face. "You know, this was actually his old room." Kai raised an eyebrow and scooted onto the edge of the bed.

"Who?" He noticed the upperclassman bite his lip before he took a deep breath to answer.

"Morro. He was a Master of Wind. He was a great guy. He was so skilled. But..." Was Gravis crying? "Well, he let the power get to him and went rogue, trying to harness magic that he did not have in him. Wu had to let him go. Well, he says that, but we all know Morro ran away. Now it's just me and Bolobo." Kai tilted his head and frowned.

"I'm so sorry. Small class, I bet." Gravis chuckled at the comment.

"Yeah, it really is. Well, I leave you here. Enjoy your new room. Take... care of it, please." The upperclassman left, finally giving Kai the chance to relax. Quietly, he started to hiss. Watching what he said could be so tiring. It made him appear dumb to others. But they could never understand.

He couldn't wait to learn magic.

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 **See y'all next chapter!**


	3. Posting on ao3 from now on

**Okay, I'm doing this again, I'm sorry.**

 **But I think from now on, I'm going to post on archiveofourown, mostly because it is a lot easier for me to post my stories. I'm sorry if many of you are disappointed, but I promise I will not stop writing. I'm just going to change where I post. The link to my ao3 account is on my profile. Love you all! :)**

 **-love a sexy trash can**


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